Ergo March 13

A BYTE OF LIFE

Friday, March 13, 2009

08 HOUNDSTOOTH’S BARK Return of the age-old print FREE CIRCULATION

Election TIME Around 43 million registered Indian voters have the opportunity to exercise their franchise for the first time in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Read how a campaign simplified the registration process for thousands of clueless voters. Plus, how some of our politicos have gone online!

» PAGE 04 & 05

Vol. 3

No. 48

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ERGO Friday, March 13, 2009

Namma Chennai Food

Flavours of India

Theatre

From Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh to Rajasthan to Kerala to Punjab… make sure you dine at Paprika from March 13. The hotel is hosting a cultural food festival, with each day allotted for a state. The buffet is priced at Rs. 795 + taxes. When: From March 13 to 26; 7 p.m. Where: Courtyard by Marriott

Mathemagician It’s play time! Mathemagician, a play directed and designed by Gowri Ramanarayan, will be staged. It combines music, poetry and visuals to tell the story of Nikor in Babylon, set in 500 BC. V. Balakrishnan plays Nikor the Mathemagician. When: March 14; 3.30 and 7.30 p.m. Where: Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Luz Church Road

Music

Music

Black and White Relive the golden era of Hindi cinemas at ‘Black and White’. The Railway Officer’s Club and Sterling Road brings to the city a collage of performances on screen and stage of the period between 1945 and 1968. When: March 16; 7 p.m. Where: Music Academy For passes call 2826 0898

Trials

Hunt for IPL juniors As part of the hunt for the junior of Chennai Super Kings, the IPL franchise will be holding trials for boy in the age group of 8 to 12 years. If you think some one you know has the skills, do sound them off. This is the last trials. When: March 14; 8 a.m. onwards Where: St.Bede’s Grounds, Mylapore

Just Jazz Sylvain Luc (guitar), Jean-Marc Jafet (double bass) and Pascal Rey (drums) promise to rock you with this weekend with their Jazz concert. When: March 14; 7.30 p.m. Where: 24, College Road For passes call AFM 2827 9803/2827 1477

Food

Go Goa! Caramel, the 24-hour coffee shop at Asiana Hotel, is hosting a Goan food promotion till March 14. Goan fish curry, vegetable hoth kothem, bindi kukum, coconut salad, the Goan flavours are sure to please your taste buds. If that doesn’t sound exciting enough, try the elaborate lunch buffet on Sundays or at Silk (Indo-Thai restaurant). For details call 67411000

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Friday, March 13, 2009

DVD OF THE WEEK

Body of Lies Working as a pair, Leonardo DiCaprio, is an on-the-field specialist, hot at the heels of an Osamalike terrorist leader and Russel Crowe is his CIA boss, working out of his office in the United States. Hani, as the head of Jordan’s intelligence agency offers a compelling performance too. The film’s narrative is so tight and intricate, you’ll probably miss out on a plot advancement if you even get up to fetch a glass of water. However, paying attention to the storyline is thoroughly rewarding as the movie encompasses great characters, a complex script, and a strong political viewpoint. We say: If you’re into geopolitical thrillers, this film cannot be missed.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Konami’s famed adventure series’ last appearance on Nintendo DS was rather cack-handed, but this is a whip-cracking return to form. It’s traditional vampire-slaying 2D action at its best, though progression is linear and the difficulty insanely high at times. LOVE Classy gaming with a beautiful soundtrack HATE Too… difficult. Can’t… beat… it We say: Among the best Castlevania games you’ve seen in years

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Silent Heart Silent Heart has the sort of atmospheric music that the likes of Pink Floyd have mastered. While it’s probably sacrilege to even put the two in the same sentence, songs from this album have taken inspiration from the best-selling English progressive rock band. For instance, Beyond Time opens in exactly the same manner as Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond. However, Silent Heart’s mood only makes it apt for elevators. Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t belittling the artist; there are those who love background music. Sound advice: Karunesh makes the sort of ambient music that’s soothing, quiet, and occasionally uplifting.

Daring robbery in city, over 1 crore missing Police on the hunt for the three masked robbers ERGO CORRESPONDENT [email protected]

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asked robbers stormed into a house in Thirumangalam on Wednesday night, locked up its inmates and looted diamond and gold jewellery worth over Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 lakh in cash. Thirumangalam police said the daring robbery occurred at the home of aluminium and jewellery businessman Ashok Kumar Malgani (58) on 13th Main Road, Z Block, Thirumangalam. Three masked men, carrying deadly weapons and conversing in Hindi, barged in around 11.30 p.m. when Malgani, his wife Lata (55) and domestic help Bachan were inside the house. The trio threatened and locked them up in a bathroom after snatching the keys of the almirahs and safes from Lata. They

had opened the safes and slipped away with 1 crore worth of diamonds, 40 sovereigns of gold and Rs 10 lakh in cash, police added. Following a complaint lodged by Malgani on Thursday morning, police personnel including senior officials and fingerprint experts visited the crime spot and conducted preliminary investigations. Special teams have been formed to nab the unidentified culprits.

Boy’s death sparks protest on OMR Death of a 10-year-old school boy on Thursday, who met with a road accident on Rajiv Gandhi Salai last week, sparked a road roko at Kottivakkam by his schoolmates. Police said the deceased karthikeyan, who was studying at a pri-

vate school in Kottivakkam was grievously injured while crossing the road near the school after being hit by a speeding motorcycle. He was rushed to a private hospital nearby. Adyar traffic investigations registered a case and are on the hunt for the unidentified biker. Karthikeyan succumbed to his injuries on Thursday morning. Students from the school came to Rajiv Gandhi Salai in Kottivakkam and staged a road roko after the news of his death reached the school. The protesters demanded the construction of a pedestrian over bridge and traffic police deployment as accident occur regularly near the school. They abandoned the protest after senior police officials and a State Minister passing by assured to fulfil their demands immediately, police added. ■

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Big Story

It’s ELECTION time With poll date drawing close, SMSes, blogs, social networking sites and websites are buzzing

LIFFY THOMAS AND SREEJITH S. [email protected]

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he Indian election juggernaut is on the move, with political parties vying for every bit of attention from voters. But is General Election 2009 going to get more exciting than the previous years? Will campaigning on the Internet play a crucial role? Are we going to see the social media, which Barack Obama cashed in on extensively to win the U.S. Presidential election, be a winning factor for Indian politicos, too? Hang on! Before that we decided to check the online space and its accessibility among the leaders.

Blogsphere… Age is no barrier for those using the Internet to campaign. And 82-year-old L.K. Advani knows that best. His blog (lkadvani.in) and website are topping the election charts as the most viewed/read blogs this season. According to data sourced from the IT cell of the BJP in New Delhi, every day the site receives 20,000 unique visitors. With each person viewing four to five pages, this brings the site around a lakh page views a day. If that’s not enough, there are more indicators to show the increasing interest among Indians about elections. Over 7,000 people have registered with their biodata as volunteers. But will the Internet bring in the votes? Prodyut Bora, national convenor, IT cell, replies: “Communication consists of two parts – message and medium. It is the message that gets in votes, not the medium. Elections were fought, won and lost, after radio and TV. Similarly, elections were fought, won and lost, even after internet. At no point can one say that we won or lost because we used a particular medium.”

Now, how many people are writing for Advani and how much of his election budget has been diverted for online campaigns is an altogether different topic, which we think his fellow politicians should be raising in the online war. Others including Omar Abdullah (jknc.org/ blog), S.M. Krishna (http://sm-krishna.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm) and M.K. Stalin (http://mkstalin.net/blog/) seem to have stopped posting.

I am on Orkut/Facebook We all know the rage social networking sites like Facebook and Orkut have become. Now it looks like local networking sites are cashing in on the election fever more than Facebook. BuzzGain, a software company that tracks the ability of people to communicate on networking sites, claims that Orkut and local search engines are bigger bets. “When compared to Facebook (4 million users), Orkut (21.3 million users) seems to be a lot more popular. Also, local sites like Minglebox and BigAdda have come out as larger campaigning zones,” says Mukund Mohan, CEO of BuzzGain. ‘Meet Up’ or meeting conferences where a group of enthusiasts gather on a specific day and time at a constituency to create awareness on the need to vote is equally picking up. “Cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi top the list of these ‘Meet Ups’, which are again popularised through networking sites,” adds Mohan.

More… Not enough that most of the parties have their own websites, this is also the time for individuals/party supporters to showcase work, ideology and poll planks through websites of their own. Leading the campaign in cyber world are Narendra Modi (www.narendramodi.in), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (www.shivrajsinghchouhan.in), among others. Likewise, Congress is going active on Twitter with an all-out campaign. ■

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Too many to handle Designed by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. and Bharat Electronics Ltd, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were first used in Kerala. The highest number of candidates that an electronic voting machine can support is 64. If the number exceeds this, then manual ballot is used. In 1996, the Modaurichi assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu had 1,033 candidates. The ballot paper was in the form of a booklet

Wake-up time! WAKE-UP TIME!

Jaago Re! One Billion Votes has simplified the voter registration process for thousands of clueless voters

SHALINI SHAH [email protected]

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anaagraha, a Bangalorebased non-profit organisation, was working in the direction of improving urban governance in the country. Around the same time, Tata Tea had launched it new TV ad campaign, wherein a politician going doorto-door seeking votes gets grilled by a youngster on his qualifications. Seeing that the objectives of both were roughly the same, Tata Tea approached Janaagraha and showed interest in a tie-up. The result was what has now become a wake-up call, “Jaago Re!”, for thousands of young Indian voters. Jaago Re! One Billion Votes has been persuading reluctant voters to exercise their franchise by creating a platform to simplify the voter registration process. In fact, Jaago Re! now covers 37 cities in India. This, with a core team of just 13 members, with the average age being 26. How, one might ask. A volunteer base of 130 people spread across the country has

By reaching out to large audiences, such as those present in colleges and companies, Jaago Re! has been able to achieve an on-ground registration number of about 50,000

Booth battles Total number of existing polling booths: 700,121 Highest number of booths in a state: 101,678 (UP) Least number of booths: 40 (Lakshwadeep) Slimmest margin of victory: Dr. P. Pookunhikoya (JD (U)) of Lakshwadeep constituency (71 votes) Biggest margin of victory: Anil Basu (CPIM) of Arambagh constituency in West Bengal (5,92,502 votes)

Mind the money There are tight legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend during the election campaign. In most Lok Sabha constituencies, the limit as recently amended in December, 1997, is Rs. 15,00,000, although in some states the limit is Rs. 6,00,000. Although supporters of a candidate can spend as much as they like to help out with a campaign, they have to get written permission of the candidate, and whilst parties are allowed to spend as much money on campaigns as they want, recent Supreme Court judgements have said that unless a political party can specifically account for money spent during the campaign, it will consider any activities as being funded by the candidates and counting towards their election expenses.

played a major role. “By reaching out to large audiences, such as those present in colleges and companies, Jaago Re! has been able to achieve an on-ground registration number of about 50,000,” says Vandana Krishnan, Communication Associate, Jaago Re! One Billion Votes. Even beyond the present 37 cities, Jaago Re! has tool-kits, along with the complete list of documents required, ready for anyone who shows interest. New areas Jaago Re! is presently working on are mapping of polling booths and an online voter search engine. While the poll booth mapping has been started as a pilot project in Bangalore, the Jaago Re! team is in the process of asking people to confirm the submission of their voter registration forms so that it is indexed and a voters’ database is created. Now, however, is the most hectic time. “With the election coming up, we’re first concentrating on getting the registrations done. There’s very little time,” rushes Vandana. ■

Trusted EVMs )

Total EVMs used: 10.25 lakh (2004 General Election) Operational speed of EVMs: maximum of five votes per minute Number of votes one EVM can register: 3,840 Number of candidates an EVM can hold: A maximum of 64 Amount of paper saved due to EVMs: 8,000 metric tonnes

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Sport The bat more than talked Consistent ability to clear the short boundaries in Kiwiland may not be a daunting task for India’s best-ever batting line-up in ODIs. For Virendra Sehwag, though, it’s not just about clearing them but the manner in which it is done. Result; the fastest ever ODI century by an Indian (60 balls) and overall sixth fastest, to seal India’s first-ever ODI series win in the country of extreme climates. Sehwag launched an array of strokes to the stands with rocket-like precision that would put an ISRO engineer to shame. So fearsome was the assault that both the ball and the bowler felt hurt, sending the former into the crowds and the latter into a shell, from where recovery was just a formality to face the bat and the man, again. Sehwag ended up completing 6,500 career runs in the process, thus becoming Ergo’s Player of the Week.

PCB eyes domestic competition The Pakistan Cricket Board hierarchy is meeting in Lahore to chalk out plans to give the domestic cricket tournaments a facelift and make them more attractive and entertaining for the people. The move to lay emphasis on domestic cricket comes just nine days after the Sri Lankan cricket team and match officials were ambushed in Lahore going to the Gaddafi stadium for the second Test.

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oger Federer, bested by Rafael Nadal in a five-set final at the Australian Open in January, is keen to renew his rivalry with his Spanish foe at the Indian Wells Masters series. Federer’s appearance in the California desert, where men’s play begins today, marks his first tournament since falling to Nadal in Melbourne, as the 13-time Grand Slam champion nursed a nagging back injury. Now he said he’s rested and ready to bid for a fourth title in the event he won in 2004, 2005 and 2006. “I love playing matches against him, especially those five-setters, seeing if I can hang with him physically without a problem,” Federer said. “He’s the greatest challenger I’ve ever had. I am really motivated because I don’t know how much better he can play,” Federer added. “I don’t know how much better I can play, but I am right there and he’s playing the tennis of his life.” Nadal’s victory in the first Grand Slam of the year marked the Spaniard’s first hardcourt Grand Slam triumph. He also denied Federer a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam crown. But the 27-year-old Swiss, who broke down in tears in the wake of that defeat, said he wasn’t unhappy with his performance there. “I thought I played a great match for four-anda-half sets,” he said. “I think I played great off the baseline, I just didn’t serve great and I think that cost me the match also.” As the top two seeds Nadal and Federer are slated to meet in the final here, but also in the mix is defending champion and third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray. Djokovic beat Nadal in the semi-finals last year, then beat surprise finalist Mardy Fish in the final. Fish had shocked Federer in the semis. Murray will be playing his first tournament since he withdrew from the quarter-finals in Dubai last month with a virus. Federer confirmed that he hasn’t arrived in California with a new coach. Australian Darren Cahill, former mentor of Andre Agassi, travelled to Federer’s base in Dubai to work with him, but decided he didn’t want to pursue the job. “He said the travel was tough for him,” Federer said. “He took the decision for me.” Federer said he will continue to work with Severin Luthi, Switzerland’s Davis Cup captain, on a part-time basis. “He’s the Davis Cup captain and we’ve been working the last one and a half years together. So nothing really changes,” he said. “I just continue with the great team that I have.” ■ AFP

Roger Federer (right) and Rafael Nadal share a poignant moment after the Australian Open final in February. Nadal won a classic Australian Open final against Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-2 to secure his first hard-court Grand Slam. PHOTO: AFP

Game’s not over Federer keen to renew rivalry with Nadal

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Friday, March 13, 2009

‘‘

We have asked the ICC to provide us with a financial model and our Board will discuss the matter once we have received this model and an official ICC invitation. We would also have to follow the Government protocols for hosting a major international event. If the finances and protocols are right and our Board agrees to accept the invitation, then we have the infrastructures and the expertise from recently hosting two ICC world championships to stage a successful tournament at short notice. CSA Chief Executive Gerald Majola

Arsenal’s Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (right) blocks the penalty kick of AS Roma’s Mirko Vucinic (left) during their UEFA Champions League second leg first knockout round match at the Olympico stadium in Rome on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP

English domination

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nglish clubs completed a clean sweep of four teams into the Champions League quarter-finals following a cliff-hanger shootout victory by Arsenal against Roma on Wednesday night. Defending champions Manchester United had already beaten Inter Milan, and on Tuesday Liverpool and Chelsea had booked their passage. When Max Tonetto shot high over the bar it gave Arsenal passage into the last eight 7-6 on penalties after the match ended 1-0, 1-1 on aggregate, after extra time. “We needed to show our nerve tonight and determination,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “We were a bit nervous at the start and gave a goal away more by nerves than them creating the chance. I must pay tribute to the nerves of my team. There is something in there that comes out, that is huge mental strength. Our character has been questioned many times. I’ve said many times that this team is very strong.”

Sir Alex wins over old foe At Old Trafford headers by Nemanja Vidic, who outfoxed Patrick Vieira in the box, and then Cristiano Ronaldo put United through 2-0 at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, who never really got on equal terms with their opponents. Barcelona’s Thierry Henry scored his 49th and 50th goals in the competition, putting him fourth in the all time list, as Barcelona beat French champions Lyon 5-2 at the Nou Camp stadium. Porto and Atletico finished goalless in Lisbon but the 2-2 draw in the first leg in Spain meant Porto went through on away goals. The eight teams which go into the Friday March 20 draw are Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Porto and Barcelona, with no Italian team for the first time in seven years. “It was one of those long European nights where you don’t know if you’re watching a game of football

or watching a game of suicide,” United manager Alex Ferguson said afterwards. “After scoring the first goal, I thought we would go on and kill them. But after going ahead we started trying to put icing on the cake and we were lucky to be in front at half-time.” Ferguson added: “I thought we could score a few goals but then we started doing flicks and back heels, hitting balls into space where no one was. It was really reckless football and it allowed Inter Milan to get a grip of the game. From the middle of the first half to the end of the first half they were the better team.”

Word of praise from Jose Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho claimed United had enjoyed more than their fair share of lucky breaks. But he had no doubt about the English champions’ ability to complete an unprecedented quintuple because of the way Alex Ferguson’s side have matured over the last two seasons. “They have basically the same

team as when I was at Chelsea,” Mourinho said. “There is only Berbatov who is new. But they have been together for four or five years. They are not young anymore – the age average is 26-27 if you forget Giggs and Scholes. They are in the right moment to be at the top of their careers. They reached the maximum level. They have experience, quality, great physical condition and intensity in their game. That is what the Champions League is about. So yes, I think they can do it (win five trophies).” The five trophies would be English Premiership, FA Cup, League Cup, World Club Cup, and Champions League. About their 5-2 hammering of Lyon, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi said: “We weren’t afraid, but it’s true after those two goals (by Lyon) we were a little surprised, we had a complicated moment. But even so we weren’t in a very dangerous situation, we were all united, we wanted the same thing.” ■ AFP

Four English clubs into Champions League quarter-finals

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Hounding the houndstooth The classic print that looks like checks, but which is not so, has seen absolute tributes to it this season

Alexander McQueen

Derek Lam

Stella McCartney

Moschino

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here are some prints that never fade away. Prints like polka dots and plaid. And houndstooth. Houndstooth is a Scottish print that from afar looks like a pattern of checks, but which is more a result of an optical illusion formed by split checks and abstract geometrical shapes. Originally black and white, the print’s colour is now subject to whim and the need to alleviate the boredom that is usually associated with it.

Many might have seen it and even possess it in the form of a golf cap, jacket or skirt, without being aware of its nomenclature and origins. This winter fabric has witnessed a resurgence in the form of important Fall/Winter 20092010 shows entirely dedicated or revolving around it. Alexander McQueen’s show in Paris, as always, was high on drama. The bleeding red lips, however, did nothing to distract from the fact that the line was a blind, whole-hearted dedication to the houndstooth, almost a deconstruction of the print. Even the shoes continued the theme. In one red-and-black houndstooth gown, the print trails off to a flock

of his trademark birds. The other houndstooth tribute came from Moschino, again in the form of a head-to-toe look – houndstooth dresses, houndstooth tights. The eye-catcher was the outfit that looked as if made from hundreds of leftover houndstooth fabrics sewn together. Marni and DSquared2 restricted the use of the fabric to mufflers and trousers, while Derek Lam sent out houndstooth miniskirts. At DKNY, beside clothes that could be expected to be crafted solely out of houndstooth, there was a mix of prints, too – oversized jackets in bold horizontal stripes, houndstooth skirts and

DKNY animal-print booties. Emporio Armani showcased houndstooth overcoats. On the other hand, Stella McCartney combined her Autumn/Winter 2009 line’s conspicuous favourite, lace, with houndstooth, lending the age-old print a delicacy that’s not usually associated with it. ■

Emporio Armani

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Portfolio PRICETAG

Delicious Lips from Chambor Chambor introduces six all-new flavours with its lip gloss collection, ‘Delicious Lips’. A range comprises Chocolate, Mint, Vanilla, Raspberry, Strawberry and Peach. Delicious Lips has a very high shine quotient and is longlasting due to the shiny polymers. It has vitamins E and C and moisturising properties that help protect the lips. The product is available in a tube of 9 ml. Price: Rs. 425. Available at Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Pantaloons, Westside and other popular departmental stores.

Power Curl from Oriflame Oriflame’s latest offering is the Power Curl mascara. Customised to curl and designed to define lashes, the mascara promises upto 91 per cent curvier and 40 per cent longer lashes. Power Curl mascara contains blacker-black pigments for intense definition, while the soft emollient-rich formula keeps lashes clump-free and conditioned. It comes with a breakthrough brush designed to lift lashes from the root for dramatic curl. To add curl and bulk, use short bristles to stroke lashes twice from root to tip. Create fan-like separation with long bristles by combing through for even distribution, flicking up slightly at the ends. Price: Rs. 349. Available with exclusive Oriflame consultants.

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Winehouse ready to give up music for husband

Flick

British pop star Amy Winehouse says she will give up her music career if it will get her husband Blake Fielder Civil back. Winehouse has been posting status updates on her Facebook profile about her husband who is reportedly intimate with a 16-year-old girl, reports mirror.co.uk.

"Only one film on the life of Guru Dutt should be made. And that too with the right intention, aesthetics and the right amount of sincerity"

I’m not doing a Guru Dutt biopic: Rakeysh Mehra T

here was much buzz in Bollywood about Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra making a biopic on legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt and his having zeroed in on Aamir Khan to play the lead role, but the director says he is not yet ready to make such a film. “I never talked about doing a Guru Dutt biopic. People kept talking about it,” Mehra told. “Nasreen Munni Kabeer had come to me with an idea on the

life of Guru Dutt. I told her anyone would like to make a film on the life of Guru Dutt, especially someone with my sensibilities. Then she came up with a screenplay. I told her I’d make it when I’m ready. This is something that crossed my mind 18 months ago. Since then I haven’t even thought about it. As of now I’m not ready to take on Guru Dutt,” he said. Mehra feels only one film on the life of Guru Dutt should be

made. And that too with the right intention, aesthetics and the right amount of sincerity. Only one person should do it, and all the others who want to honour him with a film should just move back and support that one project. Guru Dutt means too much to all of us,” the filmmaker said. And what about the talk of Aamir playing Guru Dutt? “I never thought of who’d play Guru Dutt. It never went that far. The script always chooses the

actors. It’s the script which chooses me, so who am I to choose anything else?” After Delhi-6, Mehra now wants to direct a light subject. “Let’s see what it is. It will be a light film. And by that I mean a less demanding subject, not necessarily a comedy,” he quipped. Mehra is at the moment enjoying the run of Delhi-6, which starred Abhishek Bachchan, Waheeda Rahman and Sonam Kapoor.

“The feedback and fan following are tremendous... An Indian film got so widely reviewed in the international press.” The director admits that the initial response to the film made him really low. “So much so that I started doubting myself. How could I go this wrong? It was a whole campaign against Delhi-6. I don’t know who sponsored it. I was initially agitated by the response. Then I realised it was a new narrative and the audience would take some time getting used to it. “Delhi-6 was being perceived as a summer blockbuster. But it wasn’t a Singh Is Kinng. People came to watch Rang De Basanti 2. They’ve finally accepted the film on its own terms. I’ve just begun to enjoy Delhi-6,” Mehra said. ■ IANS

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Actor Omakuchi dead Comedian Omakuchi Narasimhan,(71), who has acted in many South Indian movies expired today. The actor is survived by his wife and children

Penelope Cruz turns blonde for new flick

Cine City

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Actress Penelope Cruz arrives at the 81st Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California on February 22, 2009. Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. AFP PHOTO

panish actress Penelope Cruz has turned into a blonde for her role in the upcoming drama Los Abrazos Rotos. Director Pedro Almodovar has revealed that he did not want the actress’ trademark dark and dishevelled hairstyle for the film. Instead, he opted for a sleek platinum blonde wig - and even managed to convince Cruz to squeeze into a red latex minidress and fishnet tights to complete her dramatic metamorphosis. “Before beginning the tests for my film I had already decided to avoid the dishevelled styles, inspired by Sophia Loren, which suit Penelope so well. After seeing the photo from Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I was even more convinced about my decision,” Contactmusic quoted Almodovar, as saying. “I want to try not to repeat hairstyles that Penelope has worn in other films. I really enjoy reinventing her, discovering the number of characters that reside within our beautiful and versatile leading lady,” Almodovar added. ■ ANI

Sarvam to release on March 27 Director Vishnuvardhan’s upcoming flick Sarvam would probably hit theatres on Mrach 27. The movie supposed to be a romantic and emotional thriller will see Arya pairing up with Trisha onscreen for the first time. Trisha for the first time in her career will play the role of a paediatric intern who will be always surrounded by kids. The movie’s music is by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Depp named ‘most overdue star for Oscar win’ A

merican actor Johnny Depp has come out tops for a Best Actor Oscar in a new online survey, to find out, which star is most overdue an Academy Awards win. After Kate Winslet’s 2009 Best Actress win, website goldderby.com has asked readers to pick the star most deserving of an Oscar win after losing out as a nominee, reports the Daily Express. And three-time loser Depp leads the race with 43 per cent of the vote - well ahead of Leonardo DiCaprio, who picked up 18 per cent. Jeff Bridges, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Ralph Fiennes, Ed Harris and Brad Pitt are also in with a fighting chance, picking up anything from four to six per cent of the vote. Both Depp and DiCaprio are strong early picks for 2009/2010 Oscar nominations. ■ ANI

AFP

Shilpa to enter wedlock Actress Shilpa Shetty will wed her long time beau Raj Kundra. It is said that Raj proposed to Shilpa on the Valentine’s Day this year with a diamond ring. However according to Shilpa the wedding will not take place before the end of this year. The actress is currently busy with other commitments as she has expanded her business empire with a spa.

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Thursday’s Query Your most memorable moments from college trips. ■ When I was in my final year, we went to Wayanadu trip there we saw actress Shakila but unfortunately that was her personal trip not her shooting Lexsminarayanan, TCS-eserve

■ When I drank 18 beers during a tour to Pondy Sivakumar, Allsec

■ We had been to Ooty in the 3rd semester. I saw a horse and wanted to ride it. Everything went fine until at the end when its owner left the reign and the horse went galloping about 500m on its own. There was no saddle and I didn’t know where to hold, I clung on to its back terrified. Being a trained horse, it took a turn and brought me back. My friends said d look on my face while I was on d horse was priceless Rema Varma, Accenture

■ The one and only industrial visit tat we went to Bangalore. The most memorable and nice trip. In the itinerary we put companies, which did not itself exist. We gave some imaginary names and address and just for name sake we went only to one industry and then enjoyed a lot Priyang, TCS

■ When a scooter hit me while crossing the road during a college trip to Bangalore. Some 40 guys from my class took me to a safer place and helped the scooter guy to start. That guy must be still searching for me, as it was my fault Ranjani, Cognizant

■ On our way back to college we turned the bus towards Pondicherry and had good time Senthil, Wipro

■ I met my dream girl in a trip to Goa Rogo Jack , Allsec

■ During our final year trip to

Mumbai, when we reached our lodging, me and 3 of my friends happily locked our room and started enjoying. Then when somebody knocked our door we found that due to some problem in our lock it got stuck up and we couldn’t open. Then it took 3 hours to break the door and let us out with all our friends waiting for us eagerly outside. Really it was a funniest and memorable moment Cherma Preethi, TCS

■ After visiting Kodaikanal with friends we planed to go Palani temple. Due to non-availability of hot water we decided to take bath in cold water early morning at 4 am because we had to visit a devotional place. While bathing we shouted "palanimalai muruga arogara" we danced we jumped, we ran and got frozen . Those days never come again, "athu oru nila kaalam sory kulir kaalam"

N.Saranya from FSS-Testing Team has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This picture was clicked at Mahaballipuram.

Prakash, Wipro

■ In my final year I went to Ooty where I had my first quarter and till now waiting for the another chance Lokesh, Hewitt

■ During my final year, we went to Ooty, Coonoor it was a beautiful trip where we enjoyed a lot with scenic beauty. We took snaps at botanical garden, Pykara waterfalls, boating, shooting spots, Nilgris, dodabetta, Coonoor park, it’s awesome and exotic to be there. And in Hotel our last night was ended with camp fire where we danced and sang. Still now if I open my album, I will just go back to Ooty once again with those beautiful flashbacks with free of cost

Viswanath from TCS e Serve has nominated his friends as Partner in Crime. This photo was clicked during a trip to Yelagiri.

Sindhu Sapna, Congruent Solutions

■ It was my 5th sem university exam. Due to rain our exam got postponed, we went 2 Thekadi, Kodaikanal without my parents knowledge. When ever they call I reply them I’m in group study don’t disturb Hashim, Allsec

Today’s Query The most creative way you have used to copy in exams

Karthikeyan from Cognizant Technologies has nominated his friends as Partners in Crime. This pic was clicked during their outing.

13

Friday, March 13, 2009

Mr.Prajeesh from Sify Limited has been nominated as office Angel by his friend S.J. Vincent. He is a very talented person and helpful to all. He never says ‘no’ for any help which we ask him.

■ Dearest Nesa, Each year your birthday reminds us That we really want to say We r very glad I know you; We think of you each day. We hope you enjoy your birthday, All the pleasures it has in store, And because We appreciate you, We hope you have many more! Happy Birthday Nesa!! Loads of love, Ever Loving Friends Wipro Technologies

■ Dear Mythili (mylu), Another year is a happy gift, So cut your cake, and say, "Instead of counting birthdays, I count blessings every day!" Advance birthday wishes mythili Cheers, From ExcelaCom Route 4

Art featured in this column will receive gift coupons from Fruit Shop on Greams Road. Send in your addresses so that we can post the coupons.

K.Suresh Specialist-Systems | of HCL Comnet doodled this.

■ Dearest Reva, I’m wishing you another year Of laughter, joy and fun, Surprises, love and happiness, And when your birthday’s done, I hope you feel deep in your heart, As your birthdays come and go, How very much you mean to me, More than you can know Have a Happy Birthday!! Loads of Love Revathi

■ Hi Santhosh On your birthday, I wish for you the fulfillment of all your fondest dreams. I wish for you that whatever you want most in life, it comes to you, just the way you imagined it, or better. Happy Birthday !

Mr.Bean Standing near the door Wife:- Why r u standing here? Mr.Bean:- I’m going to hunt a Lion. Wife:- Then Go! Mr.Bean:- How can i go? A Dog is standing outside...

Hearty Wishes from your Team friends !!! N.Deepan, Tata Consultancy Services, Siruseri.

■ Dear Krithika V,

Wish you many more happy returns of the day! May the coming years bring lots of happiness in your life. Best Wishes, Shobi, Deepa, Arul, Aarthi

■ Dear Sheba, Wishing you a gr8 wonderful Birthday!!! God Bless you..... Love you lot... Have a grt dazzling year ahead !!! With love Ur love...

■ Dear Pandiyan, ‘Ariyalur’ Naatu Rajavukku Iniya pirantha naal vaazthukkal... Vazhiya Nee Pallandu…. With Love, Senthil, Mathan, Arun Sivaraman, Arun Kumar (Wipro)

■ Hi Dinesh Kanna, May God shower you all the happiness in the World. May this birthday be loaded with full of fun & frolic. My hearty wishes to you Dhanda… Belated Birthday Wishes!!!

With love, Saranya M Cognizant.

■ Hi Prem (Kuruvi manda), On this Special day we wish you a Very Happy Birthday. May it bring u with loads of joy. All the Best for ur delightful Journey. Keep Rocking. Best Wishes from iRonicz Spiders Team Tata Consultancy Services, iNautix, fidelity-Chennai . Musigma, NSN, Tata Elexi, EMCBangalore Juno, Deshaw, Commvault-Hydrabad.

■ Dear Vimala, Warm and loving birthday wishes from your loving friend. Let your every step in life would be successful one .you are always special to me .I miss our college days .your always in my heart. With lots of love M.Gowri Santhia

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ERGO Friday, March 13, 2009

Traffic Jam

The woman who cried wolf A Chinese woman says she has been howling like a wolf for 26 years - but can’t help it.

sudoku

Anvesh Chaudhary of AdventNet clicked this on the way from Coonor to Ooty.

Preference this month is being given to photographs that talk about ‘happiness’, which you need to tell us in a line or two. Please do not repeat any of your previous pictures and also make sure that the photograph is people-oriented. Happiness is not always a smile, so put on your thinking caps and keep clicking! Winners can collect their gift vouchers on Sundays, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Ergo office

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the platform? Mail us your best work and we’ll publish it in this space, with credit. E-mail: [email protected]

TEAM Editor: Karthik Subramanian [email protected]

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem Kumar Dy Chief Designer: R. Ravi Kannan Illustrator: R. Venugopal Technical Support: V.R. Vasudevan, K.G. Gurumurthy N. Ravichandran, E. Baskar

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: Contact: 2857 5757 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.goergo.in Head of Circulation: M.G.M. Sharief [email protected]

SNAIL MAIL 859/860, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002 mail your feedback to [email protected]

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Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7, CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin: 603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553

KAKURO

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Bond museum

Word’s worth

An Austrian town is to open a James Bond museum to mark its brief appearance in Quantum of Solace.

“Bematist” (bee-muh-tist) an official road-surveyor in the time of Alexander the Great. This word comes from a Greek word meaning ‘to measure by paces.’

B.C ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20 The day will begin with a pile of workload. Ganesha assures that you will be able to clear up everything in due time. There may some technical glitches at work; hence it is advisable to take back-up of all the important data.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20 Confusion may strike terror in your life. Take it easy. Let some time pass and things will get clearer. On the positive side, there are some good news coming your way very soon. You may remain emotionally attached to your partner or beloved.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20 If you begin early, you will able to get off early. There may be some events at home which require your attention, early winding up will help. Important communication is on the cards today. Evening will be spent in warm company of close friends.

BORN LOSER

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20 If we distribute the day in to two parts, the previous will be pleasant. The later part will hectic and bothersome. Arrange all important meeting in the first part of the day. On the love front, you will be emotionally inclined towards your beloved.

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20 The day is picture perfect today. Things will certainly be in your favour, both in personal as well as professional life. All that was floating around in certainty will start settling down. Some Leos might actually decide to settle down in personal lives.

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

FREE RANGE

WORKING IT OUT

On this fun filled day, Ganesha feels your heart will fly free at your office as well. You may seem to be in a flirtatious mood at the office. All fun and games should not mean ignoring work, warns Ganesha. You may have visitors in the evening.

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20 Here comes a lucky day! Ganesha thinks you should take advantage of this situation on the career front. Go out and conquer your dreams today. Love life and personal life will be at its best today. You should enjoy the day without any hesitance.

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20 Your superiors and colleagues will appreciate your work. Sadly, this will mean increase in the workload for the day. Ganesha feels that this is a good chance for you to create great rapo in office. On the love front, be prepared for pleasant surprises.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20 You may have to face tough competition at work today. Ganesha thinks you will be able to handle the situation judiciously. On the love front, you and your beloved will be at the best possible blissful moment that any love birds can reach.

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20 Desired goals may not be achieved. You may also feel that your hard work is not paying off. Ganesha assures that the wind will start blowing in your direction very soon. You just need to keep faith. Love life will be emotional today.

PREVIOUS ISSUE’S SOLUTIONS

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20 This busy day will begin a bit late for you. This might take a toll on your energy levels and might drain u mentally. Ganesha feels that due to this, you might want to rush home. Love life is uneventful.

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20 The fog of confusion will get cleared from your mind in the morning itself. Ganesha feels the flow of the day is smooth. For lovers and couples, try to not to indulge in any kind of arguments today, Ganesha says. Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni

16

!

ERGO Friday, March 13, 2009

Ladies’ day out ERGO CORRESPONDENT [email protected]

M

PHOTO: R. RAGU

ore than 220 women participated in the Women’s Day fete organised by The Hindu recently. As part of the day-long event organised at the Citi Centre, women from various walks of life participated in activities including treasure hunt, riddle-solving and other games. Sixty-two teams participated in the treasure hunt that was flagged off by women biker Alisha Abdullah. The hunt took the teams on a wild goose chase from Mylapore to Elliot’s Beach. They solved riddles, tracked

Granny’s tale with a musical twist V.HARIPRIYA [email protected]

“W

hen we went for the audition, no one was willing to talk. They had difficulty in opening up. But after gaining their trust, we were all for surprise as they had scores of hidden talents within them,” brims G. Brammanathan of NalandaWay Foundation , the script writer and director of Paatti Vada Kaakka Nari, a humorous play enacted by the children of juvenile homes at the Museum Theatre on Wednesady. The auditorium at Egmore was reverberating with the applause as The 45 kids from 17 juvenile homes in Tamil Nadu gave a rocking performance for one-a half-hour. From eight-year-old Ajay to 18year-old Suresh, each one played their role to perfection. The same old vada story involving old lady, crow and fox was interlaced with stories from Panchathanthira folk tales. The entire show was performed with pre-recorded sound tracks. “Along with the story we have included some social messages which the children came up with. It is clear that the social

evils like smoking, drinking has created a very strong impression in the minds of these children that they are realising it as something wrong,” Bramma said. For Balaji, a class IX student from Royapuram home, the whole exercise was an introduction to a dream world. Wearing a full black outfit, to enact the role of crow in the play, he was raring for a chat after the show. “The rehearsals were fun. Now I have many friends in this group. I even dubbed for some other characters,” says Balaji who is also a budding mimicry artist. Asked what he learnt from the whole exercise, he says “Brahma anna taught me how to modulate my voice for different roles. That was new to me.” “If Balaji is good at voice modulation, then Suresh is a good actor,” says Weslin Panakal, Head of Communication, NalandaWay. “Each one has a different talent, but they don’t have a platform to express it. So we thought of helping them,” she adds. Sriram Ayer, the CEO of NalandaWay said that within three years all the children of juvenile homes will be trained in different arts and provided a platform to showcase their talents. ■

down clues and performed activities to score bonus before reaching the final destination. The team with the maximum points were declared winners. After the treasure hunt the women headed to Citi Centre at Radhakrishnan Salai where a variety of events were conducted, from games to singing and dance competitions. TV actress Shipla, RJ Arun and Singer Chinmayi graced the celebration and interacted with the participants. The winners went home rich as the day ended with the prize distribution. The 1st prize winners took away a cash prize of Rs. 25,000. ■